Folding play pens



Nov. 26, 1957 D, M, LEE Er AL 2,814,051

FOLDING PLAY PENS Filed June 17, 1954 4 sheets-sheet 1 um unl' Mum -lfz/ mu mlllulihlf.

l I7 -A i I 'v DURAN M. LEE

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ATTORNEYS GERHARD RuoFF 4 Sheetspsheet 2 D. M. LEE ET AL FOLDING PLAY PENS Nov. 26, 1957 Filed June 17, 1954 ATTORNEY S DoRAN M. LEE GERHARD RUQFF BY 55m. 1%

Nov. 26, 1957 D. M. LEE ETAL FOLDING PLAY PENS 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 17, 1954 VENT ORS DORAN' M. LEE

1 ill. llllllllll GERHARD RUOFF BY 6/:J679/wmf ATTORNEY 5 Nov. 26, 1957 D. M. LEE ETAL FOLDING PLAY PENS 4 SheetsSheet 4 Filed June 17, 1954 oRAN M. LEE cal-:Hmmm Rum-'Fv ATTORN EY 5 United States Patent FOLDING PLAY PENS Doran M. Lee, Springfield, and Gerhard Ruoif,

Philadelphia, Pa.

Application June 17, 1954, Serial No. 437,372

7 Claims. (Cl. 5-99) This invention relates to play pens for young children, and more particularly to folding or collapsible play pens.

Specifically, the invention relates to four sided pens of the well known type in which two opposite sides are each formed of a pair of sections hinged together on the outside at the middle so that they may be folded inwardly between the two remaining sides, thus forming a flat package to facilitate handling and storage.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved pen of this character, and also to devise means whereby if desired, the pen, in collaped condition as above described, may be again folded transversely, so as to produce a compact package of one-half the length, for convenience in transportation, as in automobiles.

It has heretofore been proposed to construct a collapsible pen of the kind referred to with a floor formed of two segments, one segment being hinged to a side of the pen and the meeting edgesrof the two segments being hingedly connected so that they may be folded up together against the side of the pen. So far as we are aware, it has been the universal practice to attach the hinges to the iloor segments in such a way that the hinge pivots lie on the lower side of the floor, so that the Hoor is folded by moving the hinge connection upwardly, bringing the under surfaces of the segments into contact with each other. A

Another object of the invention is to provide a construction in which the floor segments are connected by hinges the pivots of which lie on' the upper side ofthe floor, so that one segment is first folded over and down on to the other, and the two segments then folded up together against the side of the pen, with the upper surfaces of the segments in contact with each other. This has certain practical advantages.

One of these advantages relates to the question of holding the folded iloor up against the side of the pen While the pen is being collapsed. Various means for doing this have heretofore been proposed, but are not entirely satisfactory. Folding the iloor segments together in the manner j'ust described permits of the use of a friction catch for holding the segments in folded position, one member of such catch being mounted on the lower surfacen of one of the segments, entirely out of the childs way, when the floor is in use. n

Other advantages of our improved method of folding the floor segments relate to the questionof rigidly supporting the oor in operative position, and to our improved method of further folding the floor segments transversely, as hereinafter more fully described. v

Still another object of the invention is to devise a method of Constructing and joining the sides of a play pen including rails, but without corner posts, whereby the corners of the bottom rails are free and unobstructed. Where it is desired to support a mattress or pad on the floor of the pen, this method of constructing the sides permits of a exible loop being attached to the pad and engaged around and under the corner of the bottom rails to hold the pad in position.

ice

With the above and other objects in view, and to improve generally on the details of such devices, the invention consists in the construction and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of the complete pen taken on the line 1 1 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows,

Fig. 1A is a fragmentary section on an enlarged scale showing the lloor hinge illustrated in Fig. 1, l

Fig. 2 is a sectional plan taken substantially on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a sectional plan showing the pen as it appears when in its collapsed or first folded position, parts being broken away,

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary horizontal section on an enlarged scale showing the middle portion of Fig. 3 and illustrating how the pen when in collapsed position can be again folded transversely,

Fig. 5 is a plan View of the completely folded pen in its nal position, parts being broken away and parts being in section,

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary Vertical section on an enlarged scale through the upper left hand corner of the pen as shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 7 is a transverse section on an enlarged scale on the line 7--7 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows,

Fig. 8 is a transverse section on an enlarged scale on the line 8--8 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows,

Fig. 9 is an inverted plan View on an enlarged scale showing one of the improved latches which we employ to hold the pen frame in operative position,

Fig. 10 is a transverse section on the line 10-10 of Fig. 9 looking in the direction of the arrows,

Fig. l1 is a transverse section on the line 11-11 of Fig. 6 looking in the direction of the arrows,

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary side elevation on an enlarged scale showing another of our improved latches which We employ to hold together the separable sections of the pen frame,

4 Fig. 13 is an inverted plan View taken substantially alongthe line 13-13 of Fig. l2 looking in the direction of thearrows,

Fig. 14 isl a transverse section on the line 14-14 of Fig. 12 looking in the direction of the arrows, and

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary perspective view on an enlargedscale showing our improved method of securing a pad in position on the oor of the pen.

Referring to the drawings in detail our improved pen is made up of four sides each comprising top and bottom rails connected by vertical slats. The bottom rails are designated 1, 2 and 3 and the top rails 4, 5 and 6, connected by slats 7.

The pen is supported by suitable casters 8 located one adjacent each corner as illustrated in Figs. l and 2.

The four sides of the pen are pivotally connected at the corners by hinges 9 attached to the top and bottom rails on the inside thereof. Each of the rails 1 and 4 at opposite sides of the pen are formed in two sections connected by hinges 10 on the outside thereof. These hinged sections may be folded inwardly about the hinges 10 into a position lying between the two remaining sides of the pen, in the usual manner, and as illustrated in Fig. 3.

Our improved pen is provided with a suitable oor supported on the bottom rails 1, 2 and 3 and preferably fitting in grooves or rabbets 2', as shown in Figs. 1 and 14.

The floor of our improved pen is made up of two seg- Iments, the first segment consisting of sections 11 and 12J and the second segment consisting of sections 13 and 14. The rst segment is connected with the bottom rail 3 by means of hinges 15, and the second segment is connected to the free edge of the rst by means of hinges 16. These hinges 16 may, if desired, be of the same type `as the hinges 15, but are preferably of the offset type shown in Fig. 1A. Whichever type of hinge is employed, the essential thing is that the pivot or pintle of the hinge lies above the upper surface of the oor. With hinges thus arranged the second segment 13, 14 of the oor may be swung upwardly about the hinges 16 as shown by the curved arrow x in Fig. l over and upon the first segment 1], 12, and Vthen the two segments together swung about the hinges up into vertical position against the side of the pen, as indicated by the curved arrow y and as shown in dotted lines at the left hand side of Fig. 1. A finger hole 17 is formed in the section 13 of the second segment to enable this segment to be readily lifted.

The two sections of the first segment are supported at their meeting edges on a cross-bar 1S and the two sections of the second segment are supported at their meeting edges on a cross-bar 19, these two cross-bars being alined and each terminating adjacent the hinges 16.

By reference to Fig. 7, it will be seen that in each case one of the sections such as 13 is permanently secured to the cross-bar by screws 20, while the other section such as 14 merely rests upon the cross-bar but is not attached to it. The upper edge of the cross-bar adjacent the section such as 14 is preferably bevelled off as shown at 19a in Fig. 7 to facilitate folding, as hereinafter described. An additional caster 8a is preferably mounted on the cross-bar 18, near the end thereof as shown in Figs. l and 6, to support the middle of the floor.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 8, it will be seen that we provide adjacent the meeting edges of the sections 13 and 14, and on the under side thereof a metal clip 21 which extends across the joint between the two sections. This clip is secured to the section 14 as by means of a rivet 22. It is not attached to the section 13 but merely underlies the same. The purpose of this clip is to cause the two sections 13 and 14 to move as a unit when this floor segment is swung upwardly about the hinges 16, and to prevent the section 14, which is not attached to the bar 19, from moving independently as the segment is folded.

In order to hold the oor segments in the folded posi- L tion as shown in Fig. 6 and also in dotted lines in Fig. 1, we provide a suitable friction catch. This is shown as consisting of a U-shaped spring clip 23 secured to the Hoor section 13 as by means of a rivet 24 (see Fig. ll). When the oor segments are swung up into folded position as shown in Fig. 6, this spring clip snaps over and engages one of the slats 7, as clearly shown. It will be particularly noted that this spring clip 23, constituting one member of the friction catch, is mounted on the lower surface of the floor section 14, entirely concealed and out of the way when the floor is in use.

While we have illustrated by way of example a friction catch comprising a U-shaped spring clip, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to this specific detail. A catch consisting of a spear head and spring jaws of the well known type may if desired be employed, but in any case, one member of the catch is mounted on the lower surface of the oor section.

When the two floor segments are folded in the manner described and as illustrated in Fig. 1, it will be seen that this catch member projects from the outside of the floor section so as to engage the other catch member such as one of the slats 7. It will also be noted that the cross-bar 19 projects outwardly through the opening between two adjacent slats, as clearly shown in Figs. l and 6.

In order to rigidly hold the two sections of the folding sides comprising the bottom and top rails 1 and 4 in extended or operative position, we preferably employ the improved catch or latch shown in Figs. 9 and 10. This comprises a latch member 25 pivotally mounted at 26 `on a xed member 27 secured to the under side of a section of one of the rails such as 4, adjacent the hinge 1t). Secured to the under side of the adjacent section of the rail is a channel shaped member 28 adapted to receive the latch 25 between the flanges thereof. This latch 25 has at its free end a rounded portion 25a adapted to snap over the end of the channel member 28 and thus hold the latch in position. It will be seen that the latch 25 extends across the joint bridged by the hinge 10, and because it is laterally supported by the flanges of the channel member it constitutes an exceptionally rigid connection.

The bottom and top rails 2 and 5 of one side of the pen are each separable into two sections, these sections being connected by a dowel 29 set into the end of one section and adapted to enter a socket 30 formed in the end of the adjacent section. In order to hold these two sections securely together, we provide the special latch shown in Figs. l2, l3 and 14. This latch comprises a pair of bars 31 pivotally attached to opposite sides of the rail 2 as by means of screws 32. These bars 31 are connected by means of a bail 33 which passes underneath the rail 2 as clearly shown in Fig. 14. Each bar 31 has a notch 34 formed near the free end thereof, these notches being adapted to engage over screws 35 set into opposite sides of the rail 2. It will be seen that the bail 33 clears the lower edge of the rail 2 far enough to permit the latch bars 31 to be swung upwardly to a sufficient extent to disengage the notches 34 from the screws 35. It will be noted that when the latch is in engagement with the screws 35 the bars 31 extend across the joint 2a between the meeting ends of the rail section and thus provide a very rigid connection.

Referring now to Fig. 2, it will be understood that the line along which the sections of the rails 2 and 5 are separated, as described, and as shown in Fig. l2, is substantially co-planar with or lies in the same Vertical plane as the joint between the floor sections 11 and 12, and 13 and 14. The opposite side of the pen, having the rails 3 and 6, is also formed in two sections, these sections being connected by hinges 36 secured to the outer side of the top and bottom rails. It will be particularly noted that these hinges 36 also lie in the same vertical plane as the joint between the floor sections and as the line of separation of the opposite side of the pen.

When it is desired to collapse the pen into its first folded position for handling or storage, the floor segments are first folded in the manner indicated by the curved arrows in Fig. l up into the position shown in dotted lines, against one side of the pen. The latches 25 are then released and the two opposite sides of the pen folded inwardly about the hinges 10 so that they occupy the collapsed position shown in Fig. 3.

If it is desired to fold the pen into still smaller space, as for example for transportation in an automobile, the latch 31 is released and the two sections of the rails 2 and 5 separated. The entire pen, in the position shown in Fig. 3, may then be folded again transversely about the hinges 36, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 4, until it reaches the position shown in Fig. 5. In this position it forms a compact package or bundle of one-half the length of the pen when in its first folded or collapsed position, shown in Fig. 3.

lt will be observed that when this folding operation takes place the two sections 11 and 12 and the two sections 13 and 14 of the floor segments separate, as shown in Fig. 4, the bars 18 and 19 remaining secured to the sections 11 and 13, and the sections 12 and 14 being detached from these bars.

In Fig. l5 we have illustrated a pad 37 supported upon the oor of the pen. By virtue of the fact that the sides of the pen are made up of slats extending between top and bottom rails, and of the further fact that no corner posts are employed, the corners at the meeting ends of the bottom rails such as 1 and 3 form a mitered joint andare free and unobstructed. This enables us to employ a flexible tape or the like 38 having its ends secured to the under surface of the pad so as to form a loop which may be engaged around and under the corner of the pen, as clearly shown, thus serving to hold the pad in position.

We claim:

1. A play pen having four sides and a floor, said floor comprising a pair of segments, the first segment being hinged to one of said sides and the second segment being hinged to the free edge of said first segment in such manner as to first swing upwardly and then fold downwardly upon the first segment, a supporting cross-bar extending transversely of the hinge lines beneath each segment, said cross-bars being alined and terminating at the hinge joint between said segments so that they fold with the segments, each segment being divided transversely adjacent its crossbar into a pair of sections, one section of each segment being secured to its cross-bar and the other section being supported on but unattached to such cross-bar, whereby the sections of each segment are separable from each other, the side of the pen to which said rst segment is hinged and the opposite side of the pen each being divided into two sections along a line substantially in the same vertical plane as the dividing line between the floor sections.

2. A play pen having four sides and a floor, said floor comprising a pair of segments, the first segment being hinged to one of said sides and the second segment being hinged to the free edge of said first segment in such manner as to first swing upwardly and then fold downwardly upon the first segment, each segment being divided at its middle at right angles to the hinge lines into a pair of separable sections, and the side of the pen to which said first segment is hinged and the opposite side of the pen being each divided into two sections at a point substantially in the same vertical plane as the dividing line between the floor sections.

3. A play pen having four sides and a floor, said floor comprising a pair of segments, the first segment being hinged to one of said sides and the second segment being hinged to the free edge of said first segment in such manner as to first swing upwardly and then fold downwardly upon the first segment, a supporting cross-bar extending transversely of the hinge lines beneath each segment, said cross-bars being alined and terminating at the hinge joint between said segments so that they fold with the segments, each segment being divided transversely adjacent its crossbar into a pair of sections, one section of each segment being secured to its cross-bar and the other section being supported on but unattached to such cross-bar, whereby the sections of each segment are separable from each other, and means connecting the sections of said second segment in such manner as to cause them to move as a unit when said segment is folded.

4. A play pen having four sides hingedly connected at the corners, two opposite sides each comprising a pair of sections hinged together in the middle so as to fold inwardly between the remaining two sides, a floor comprising a pair of segments hinged together and -one of said segments hinged to one of said remaining two sides so that said segments may also be folded together between said remaining two sides, the side to which said floor segment is hinged being itself made up of two sections connected by hinges, and the opposite side comprising a pair of separable sections, and said floor segments being `also divided into sections transversely of said two remaining sides, whereby the entire pen, in folded condition, including said floor segments, may be folded again about said hinges to form a package one half the length of said remaining sides.

5. A folding play pen having four sides hingedly connected at the corners, two opposite sides each comprising a pair of sections hinged together in the middle to fold inwardly, a floor comprising a pair of segments hinged together and one segment being hinged to one of the remaining two sides, whereby the pen may be collapsed into flat condition with the iioor segments and the two first mentioned sides folded together between the two remaining sides, and means whereby said two remaining sides and said floor segments, when the pen is in collapsed condition, may be folded again at a point approximately midway of their length.

6. A folding play pen having four sides hinged together at the corners, and a floor, two opposite sides each comprising a pair of sections hinged together in the middle so as to fold inwardly between the other two remaining sides, the first of said remaining sides comprising a pair of sections hinged together on the outside of the middle, and the second of said remaining sides comprising two sections separable at the middle, said floor being made up of a pair of segments, the first segment being hinged to said first mentioned remaining side and the second segment being hinged to the free edge of the said first segment and foldable upon the same, each segment being divided transversely of said last mentioned hinge lines at the middle into two sections separable from each other along a line substantially co-planar with the line along which the sections of said second remaining side are separable, whereby said floor segments may first be folded up together against the said first mentioned remaining side and then the sections of said second mentioned remaining side and the floor segments separated, and said last mentioned remaining side, together with the floor segments, may be folded again about the hinge of the first mentioned remaining side into a compact package of half the length of said sides.

7. A play pen having four sides and a floor, one of said sides comprising a pair of hingedly connected sections, said floor comprising two segments, the first segment being hinged to said side and the second segment being hinged to the free edge of said first segment and foldable upon the same, whereby both segments may be folded up together against the side of the pen to which said first section is hinged, each segment being divided transversely of its hinge line into two sections separable from each other along a line substantially co-planar with the line along which the sections of said side are hinged together, Whereby said floor segments, in folded position, may be `again folded along said line about the said hinge connection of the sections of the side of the pen.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 788,529 Frank May 2, 1905 1,175,673 Anderson Mar. 14, 1916 1,354,088 Burchell Sept. 28, 1920 1,479,628 Seger Jan. l, 1924 1,827,739 Derbyshire Oct. 20, 1931 1,841,410 Karr Jan. 19, 1932 2,043,072 Schmitt June 2, 1936 2,430,704 Brown Nov. 11, 1947 2,632,186 Berk Mar. 24, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 209,958 Switzerland Aug. 16, 1940 330,455 Great Britain June 12, 1930 

